Defending champions advance to quarterfinals
By KATHLEEN O'BRIEN
Associate Sports Editor
175-lbs.
Rob "A.M.D.G." Joyce took the first step towards repeating as a Bengal Bouts champion Thursday night, winning a unanimous decision over Ryan "The Rhino" Hernandez, but he knows he's got a long way to go.
First, the boxing captain will have to weather Matt "The Rocky Mountain Avalanche" Padilla's attack Monday in the quarterfinals. If he can do that, the Siegfried Hall junior will have to win another match just to score a spot in the finals, where he would likely meet another captain and defending champion in Mark "I'm So Pretty" Criniti.
The most fearsome foe?
"By far, Mark Criniti," Joyce said. "He's another captain. He's a southpaw and he's tough."
But that potential matchup is a week away. Joyce, whose nickname's initials stand for a Latin phrase which means "For the greater glory of God," advanced to the second round with an aggressive but well-timed attack that rose to a crescendo at the end of round three.
"He [Hernandez] is more of a brawler, a real tough kid," Joyce said. "I expect the next fights to be more technical."
Criniti cranked out a unaminous decision win over Matt "The Rooster" Knust to keep Joyce's hopes for a championship clash alive.
Criniti came out quick and powerful, as the Keough junior landed more punches than his freshman opponent.
Padilla snowed in Jarrett "Botta Boom Botta" Bingemann in a well-matched fight.
In round two, Padilla sent in a number of straight left punches. Bingemann answered with a flurry of right-lefts to the chest.
Padilla pounded Bingemann down in round three with his direct punches.
Freshman Nathan Scheid shook down fellow first-year student Sean Tucker with a split decision, chalking up the win to his straight punches.
Tucker turned it on late in the first round to seemingly take an edge. Round two had Scheid and Tucker circling one another and searching for their in, but Scheid wound up slamming Tucker. In the final round, Scheid came out on the offensive, keeping Tucker tucked in against the wires.
Keith Arnold sent Gerry "The Big Pint" Quinn under the table in a closely contested split decision, with a strong start giving him the edge.
Arnold, a junior from Stanford, blasted Quinn with a huge hit to the face in round one. To end the round, Arnold drilled in a bunch of punches.
Quinn came back a bit in the second round, but neither fighter managed too large an advantage. Quinn, on his heels, put some hits into his opponent as the round closed.
Round three was also a tight one. Arnold was armed with a power hit, but Quinn responded by knocking Arnold to his knee. The finale helped Arnold, who angled in on the grad student from Ireland to take the bout.
Dan "Dangerous" Schaeffer, a senior, had experience on his side as he outdanced freshman Joshua Hill.
Schaeffer led the dance the entire bout, assailing Hill with his hits. Hill didn't seem to suffer too much from the light hits, but his role of taking the punches didn't win him any points, as Schaeffer won a unanimous decision.
O'Neill sophomore John Lynk, buoyed by a boisterous bunch of Mardi Gras revelers, beat John "The Valpo Vigilante" Baldea in a short, brawling battle.
Just 34 seconds into the first round, the referee stopped the contest with Lynk pounding Baldea in the face.
Brian "The Bulldog" Colville belted opponent Brent "El pas" Burish, bruising Burish throughout the fight.
Colville followed a repeated strategy of going at his opponent fast and furiously, then loosening up before things got ugly.
165-lbs.
Patrick "The Guv'nor" Dillon laid down the law on Louis "Il Macellaio" Perry in the opening bout of the 165-pound weight class, taking the early offensive.
Round two was when Dillon really got things going, using his height and reach advantage to help him strike out at the Knott Hall junior.
"In the second round, the corner really helped me out," Dillon said. "I let my reach do most of the work for me."
Perry pounced out on Dillon in round three, but a couple good punches by Dillon sealed the deal in favor of the Morrissey Manor freshman.
Justin "The ResLife Regular" Myers made the most of his bounce and agility, beating Tim "Maximus" McCurdy in a unanimous decision.
When McCurdy began to tire, Myers got through McCurdy's defenses. He sent a few quick combos to the face to help him corner the victory.
Brian "Ice" Berg put the chill on Stephen "The Stinger" Owens with a close split decision victory.
In a bout between two freshmen, Owens broke the ice with several combination punches. But as the fight went on, Berg stayed away from the jabs and focused in on nailing Owens with head-on punches.
"I was just trying to keep moving," Berg said. "Straight punches instead of just jabbing and going nuts; straight punching is the key."
Junior Chris "Can't We All Just Get Along?" Kitalong might have been nervous, fighting in Bengal Bouts for the first time, but he didn't show it as he beat freshman Ryan "Ragin' Cajun" Gagnet with a unanimous decision.
Gagnet was more active, jumping around, but Kitalong tossed his opponent around with his hits.
"It was just straight jabbing, that's what they told me in the corner," Kitalong said. "I was nervous as hell."
Billy "Sweetpea" McMurtrie knocked back Thomas "Grand Knight" Dietz again and again, and it paid off with a unanimous decision. Dietz fell to the ground in the first round, and with a tentative bout thereafter, McMurtrie hung onto his victory.
Thomas "Boom-Boom" Macias sideswiped opponent Kelechi "The Nigerian Nightmare" Ndukwe with his hook shots and roundhouse punches in an energetic assault.
Both boxers put on a good show, but Macias out-duked the junior Ndukwe for a unanimous decision.
Clay "Mouth of the South" Cosse walked the talk in beating J.P. Camardo Wednesday with a unanimous decision.
"I had more diversity than J.P. did as far as throwing hooks and jabs," Cosse said. "J.P., he's a strong fighter. He's gotten stronger since we sparred, and he surprised me."
Camardo and Cosse opened with quick hits, but even from the start, Cosse held the edge. He clung to that through the first two rounds.
In round three, Camardo came back, creaming Clay into one side, but Clay answered with crushing blows to the face.
All Sports Stories for Friday, February 23, 2001
